Democracy and Women's Liberation
The film is set in a remote village in 1930s India that follows ancient traditions, and the idea of democracy has more or less infiltrated it. First of all, the children of the local nobles. They have received a new education and are exposed to advanced ideas, but they are Onegin-like "superfluous people" who, despite their aversion to reality, are powerless. Narayan's friends who had studied in the UK could only tolerate his father's use of power to enjoy the shameful behavior of a widow. Compared to his friend who spent his days drinking champagne and playing the piano, Narayan made a bold defiance: He, a well-educated aristocrat, wanted to marry a widow who was considered a pariah. The second is democracy as the lower classes hear about it. In the face of unheard or even alarming remarks, they behave with contempt and contempt. Confused when she learned that a law had been passed allowing widows to remarry, she turned to the priest who had read the scriptures, and the priest replied, "Ignore the law that doesn't suit us." Such an answer obviously could not deal with the doubts of Zhakentara. She finally released Kalianne, who was under house arrest, and let her pursue her own happiness. At the end of the film, Gandhi came to the local railway station and gave a speech to the villagers: "Dear brothers and sisters, I have always believed that God is the truth, but today I realize that the truth is God. The way to pursue the truth is very important to me. It's priceless for you, and I'm sure it will be the same for you." Under the background of the influx of democratic thought, traditional beliefs were questioned, and the consciousness of women's liberation began to awaken.
The human rights and freedoms of women in the film of Imprisoned Lust
became an element of concern for feminists. Women in India bear the double shackles of patriarchy and theocracy and become pure "others".
Widows were required to maintain chastity for their dead husbands, but secretly became prostitutes in order to survive. All they guard is the image in the eyes of others, and they shape themselves according to secular and religious standards: to eliminate all their earthly desires and achieve what is called "self-liberation". Shakentara replied to the priest: If "self-liberation" means annihilating human desires, then I will never be able to do it. Existentialism divides human existence into three kinds of "self-being", "being-for-itself" and "other-being". Widows are typical "others". In India, they are not their natural selves, women of gender, but other without desire. And what is terrifying is that they internalize this notion of the other as their belief and destiny, and they have to defend and obey it unconditionally. During a prayer, Qiuya asked where the widowed man lived. This caused panic among the other widows, followed by anger: watch out for rotting your mouth, God bless men against this. They didn't question their beliefs, even though this belief kept them alive and left them suffering from lust for eternity.
The old widow Patia can't remember when she came to the monastery. Because her teeth are all gone, her mouth is shrunk into a line, but she can't forget all kinds of mellow and tempting desserts on the wedding day: big white cheese balls, Hot rose sweet balls, yellow natto made with whipped cream, and sweet cashew nuts wrapped in gold leaf. Patia has spent countless difficult nights relying on the memories of her childhood wedding. The appetite for food is in stark contrast to the bland fast food. The sweet and mellow desserts reveal her subconscious desires, but the widow can't eat these things, so she secretly ate a naetuo and died of contentment. Desires cannot be eliminated, even by a dying old widow.
Religion defends the legitimacy of India's caste system, precisely a male-centred caste system. Narayan got into a quarrel with his long-respected father, and his noble mother, all he could do was stand silently at the door, waiting to give the motherly care of her sad and angry son. She is a gentle and loving mother, and at the same time a wife who respects her husband unconditionally. Her husband recklessly brought prostitutes to the house, but she could only avoid and endure it. After Narayan had a fierce dispute with her father, she endured the pain in her heart, and her first thought was that as a mother, she should comfort her child. Even women in the upper classes, their simple demands for freedom have been eliminated by the patriarchy, their social roles are nothing more than wives and mothers, and they have no other reason for existence.
Water and Colors
Water is a very important image in the film, and it has a close relationship with religion. In Hinduism, the god of water is Vishnu. Whenever there is a disaster in the world, Vishnu will incarnate Krishna and come to the world to save the world and maintain the order of the universe. Kalyani, who went to sell herself for the monastery's livelihood, prayed to Krishna's blessing every day. Although it did not help to change the status quo, her religious belief of "coming out of the mud and not being stained" became the spiritual support for her not to degenerate. Water also symbolizes death, implying that religion does not lead its followers to salvation, but death. The name of the male protagonist Narayan means the recumbent image of Vishnu. His love gave Kalianne a new hope, and he is the incarnation of Vishnu in front of Kalianne. Kalianne's love for Narayan is as devout as a belief, but this belief is like a religion, immersing people in illusory happiness, and finally bringing about a cold death. People are cremated by the water, the widow of a dead husband is shaved by the river, these ancient religious ceremonies held by the water are full of death.
The director's use of color in the film deserves attention. The white sarees worn by widows not only reflect their tedious, empty lives, but are also a burial symbol—it wraps around the bodies of the living like a shroud. In the film with gray and white as the main tone, there has been a scene of brilliant colors, and the colors are joyful. On this day, widows can put on flowers and smear bright paint on themselves and others. On this day, widows who are separated from each other will also laugh and let go of their past suspicions. After all, it was the only bright color that could embellish their gray and bleak lives.
The Nightmare That Can't
Be Escaped When Shakentara asked why they existed, Narayan replied: "With one less widow, one less person to eat at home, one less bed and more space, and also You can spend less on four sets of saris. All of this has nothing to do with religious beliefs or happiness in the afterlife, everything is based on financial reality.” At this time, in the background, there is a little girl as old as Qiuya being shaved by the river, and the absurdity, hypocrisy and cruelty of this religious ceremony are fully exposed. The subtitles at the end of the film show that as of 2001, there were 34 million widows in India, and most of their lives were no different from what was stipulated in the Code of Demons, thousands of years ago. In India, thousands of widows are gathered in one place - Brindapang (a religious ancient city on the banks of the Yamuna River in northern India). In this place, they believe that death can atone for their sins. Widowmen usually live in ashram houses for practice, waiting to die. Unfortunately, as a religious holy city, Brindaba is not a beautiful place full of flowers. The widows who live there are poor and hungry. The monastery that houses the widows only provides them with a small plate of food every day and a rather poor life. environment, they had to go to the streets to beg for food. Young widows also face threats to their personal safety, such as rape, sexual abuse and human trafficking.
The film pays attention to and thinks about the fate of South Asian women, showing the living conditions of women under the repression of theocracy and patriarchy. Western feminism, from its initial demands for political equality, to its deconstruction of women’s roles defined in a patriarchal society, is trying to get rid of women’s mere existence as subordinates: they are the father’s daughter, the husband’s wife, and the child’s mother. This kind of role is the only support for a woman to exist. What is even more terrifying is that this truth is subtly convinced by women themselves, and in India, it has been clothed with the sacred cloak of religion, making believers make sacrifices for it without complaint.
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